Sadtu vows to intensify work-to-rule

Cape Town - The SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) in the Western Cape says it will intensify its work-to-rule, with pickets planned for Wednesday and a march to Parliament planned for next week.

Last month, the union’s national executive committee said that while its members would continue to teach for seven hours a day, it would not participate in workshops, meetings and other activities arranged by the Education Department. They said its members would no longer be available to mark exams, including the supplementary and year-end exams.

The union called for the resignations of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and her department’s director-general, Bobby Soobrayan.

They said Motshekga had withdrawn from a collective agreement that would have increased the tariffs paid to markers.

On Monday, Sadtu provincial secretary Jonavon Rustin said pickets would be held before and after school, as well as during breaks tomorrow.

Meetings with principals would be held on Thursday, and a march to Parliament was being planned for April 24.

Rustin said the march was also a “victory march” after the Constitutional Court turned down a bid by Education MEC Donald Grant for leave to appeal against an interim order handed down by the Western Cape High Court regarding the closure of 17 schools.

Paddy Attwell, spokesman for the Western Cape Education Department, said teaching had not been affected by the work-to-rule and districts had not cancelled any workshops: “Two districts reported that some teachers did not attend workshops. Districts will monitor the situation.”

Motshekga’s spokeswoman, Hope Mokgatlhe, said unions had taken the matter of the collective agreement regarding the tariffs for markers to court and the department was waiting for the court’s decision.

Regarding Sadtu’s “victory march”, Grant’s spokeswoman, Bronagh Casey, said: “What victory? The Constitutional Court made no decision other than not to hear the matter at this stage given the fact that the review is set down for May in the Western Cape High Court.”